The present invention is directed to a monitoring system for monitoring the average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system. The invention is more particularly directed to a monitoring system for monitoring the average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system to provide continuous knowledge of the required number of operator positions to efficiently service requested calls for service.
In toll telephone operating systems the necessary number of available operator positions to service requested calls for service to efficiently respond to traffic loads varies radically throughout a normal business day. For example, it is not uncommon for the number of required available operator positions to double every half hour while approaching a morning traffic load peak. In the past, in order to cope with this problem, operator personnel work schedules have generally been arranged to have the required operator personnel available to meet the expected average traffic characteristics. Because the actual traffic conditions never match the average for which the operator personnel work force is scheduled it has been necessary in the past to either overstaff with operator personnel, and thus have personnel not fully used, or to understaff and have the average wait time for service encountered by the subscribers to be much longer than desirable.
To overcome these deficiencies it is therefore desirable to provide a means whereby managing personnel may have continuous knowledge of the work load impressed upon the operator personnel work force. This would allow such managing personnel to make adjustments in the number of available operator positions and maintain a constant level of service. It would be most desirable to have such monitoring position continuously in operation such that dynamic diversion of operator personnel through revision of "break" schedules and reassignment to and from non-operating tasks can be achieved with a net reduction in required personnel.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for monitoring the average wait time for service encountered by subscribers in a toll telephone operating system.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for monitoring the average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system which has response times such that the need for corrections in the number of required operator positions and the responses thereto may be quickly realizable.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for monitoring the average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system which provides an average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system over a period longer than the time required to service a single call for service to prevent wide excursions in the average wait time indication provided thereby to thus increase the monitoring accuracy during light traffic periods.
It is a still more particular object of the present invention to provide a monitoring system for monitoring the average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system which provides average wait times which are instantaneously readable and interpretable.
It is a still further particular object of the present invention to provide a monitoring means for monitoring the average wait time for service in a toll telephone operating system which provides an historical record of the average wait times obtained.